Smaller Floods

by Evan Peterson

(120 minutes with one intermission)

Against the arid backdrop of the Dust Bowl, Abital digs in the farmland soil for a hidden lake prophesied to her in a dream—her last-ditch effort to reclaim water after growing concerns that the nearby river basin is soon to run dry. Meanwhile, her brother Gabriel charts weather patterns in hopes to predict the next rainfall. Inside their generations-old house, the children’s...

(120 minutes with one intermission)

Against the arid backdrop of the Dust Bowl, Abital digs in the farmland soil for a hidden lake prophesied to her in a dream—her last-ditch effort to reclaim water after growing concerns that the nearby river basin is soon to run dry. Meanwhile, her brother Gabriel charts weather patterns in hopes to predict the next rainfall. Inside their generations-old house, the children’s sheltered and skeptical mother—a frontierswoman and a barkeep—washes away the myths spun to her at the saloon as she searches for her missing acquaintance. Over one long night, at the arrival of a Western outlaw, the children are forced to reckon with the deadly potential of the dust that their mother has kept hidden from them, as they decide whether to leave their land or if they’re too indebted, owing too much to ever leave.

A play about the American frontier myth and what it means to be forgotten by history.

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Smaller Floods

Recommended by

  • Michael Gotch: Smaller Floods

    Evocative, poetic, menacing, with an easy back and forth between specificity and larger universals. Mysterious and compelling. A graceful voice that avoids sentimentality but still moves you. An elegant weaving of the natural and the human.

    Evocative, poetic, menacing, with an easy back and forth between specificity and larger universals. Mysterious and compelling. A graceful voice that avoids sentimentality but still moves you. An elegant weaving of the natural and the human.

  • Doug DeVita: Smaller Floods

    Evan Peterson's "Smaller Floods" is a haunting, poetic, and beautiful reminder that nourishment comes in many forms and is not only necessary for ecological survival, it is necessary for humanity's soul, as well.

    Evan Peterson's "Smaller Floods" is a haunting, poetic, and beautiful reminder that nourishment comes in many forms and is not only necessary for ecological survival, it is necessary for humanity's soul, as well.

Character Information

  • LISE
    Abital and Gabriel’s mother; she believes only in what she can see. What she wants and what she stands for are not the same thing. A woman changed by time.
    Character Age
    40s
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • GABRIEL
    Very against the idea of organized labor. He would rather watch the clouds. Geographically compromised, he would rather be where culture is.
    Character Age
    18
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • SURANNE
    She is lawlessness. Rebel, outlaw, invokes the spirit of the frontier myth. Above all, a cartographer who believes in the power of self-preservation.
    Character Age
    Early 20s
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • ABITAL
    A small storm with a strong conviction. Believes in what she cannot see. Holds onto heritage like it's something easily lost.
    Character Age
    17
    Character Gender Identity
    Female

Development History

  • Type Residency, Organization National Theater Institute, Year 2018

Production History

  • Type University, Organization Susquehanna University Theatre, Year 2022
  • Type Workshop, Organization National Theater Institute, Year 2018